Centennial Moving

We hired Centennial for helping us in long distance moving from Mississauga to Edmonton. Following is my experience with Centennial.

This was the first time we were hiring a moving company in Canada and we were very nervous after reading many online reviews of different moving companies. We decided to go with Centennial because of very reasonable pricing and transparent policies. The coordinator person was very polite and patient in answering all of my concerns related to the moving. Their online portal is easy and helpful for sharing all the inventory details. They prefer all communication over email rather than phone, which I feel is a good policy for both parties.

The people who came to pick up our stuff were well experienced and organized in packing and moved everything out seamlessly. They delivered the stuff at the delivery location very safely, there was zero damage to any of our furniture and other stuff.

They scaled our stuff at the pickup location and sent the weight details the next day for the final bill - so no last day surprises, which I liked the most. Though the scaled weight was quite higher than I expected. But they allowed me to get it rescaled and also paid the difference according to their policy.

I would highly recommend Centennial for their professional service, transparent charges and policies, and peace of mind moving experience.

I had a great experience with this company when I moved from Prince Albert to Montreal this week. There was so much more to a long distance move than I thought (timing, insurance, what to pack so you have it the night you arrive, etc) so I'm glad that the sales person walked me through everything and also emailed it to me so I could reference later. When the truck arrived at my apartment, the movers had already talked to the concierge about permission to park the truck where they needed it and moving hours and all those kinds of things. The guys were super friendly and were respectful of my new neighbors by asking them if they needed to move the truck or if they were in their way at all. Everything arrived safe and sound and nothing was broken. The guys even put together our beds, kitchen table, couch sectional and unwrapped a really big rug for me. I'm used to having to do all the manual labor myself when I move so it was nice to be able to relax and just unpack the boxes. Well, I mean, unpacking boxes isn't my cup of tea but it's better than doing all the heavy lifting. Thumbs up to these guys.

In September of 2021, I planned my move with Centennial Moving. My experience was marred by an astounding lack of communication, inconsistent and unreliable pricing, and a stunning lack of professionalism.

During the first two weeks, I was assigned a Personal Consultant whose job was to help me through the first steps of the process. Centennial Moving works on a self-reporting system, so I was asked to self-report the content of my apartment, without error, and without any opportunity for an in-person consultation. My final estimate came to around $3000, based on weight. Several weeks later, I would be informed that the actual cost of my move was roughly twice as much as the initial estimate. Thankfully I was able to pay for this, but if I hadn’t been, it’s entirely unacceptable that the cost of my move wasn’t even reliably estimated to me until well after it was underway.

Two weeks after I started planning my move, my personal consultant was changed with no warning or explanation. I was now corresponding with Warren and Alex from Centennial moving. This correspondence started on the 14th of October, for a move originally planned for the 22nd.

On the 19th of October, I was informed that the pickup at my apartment would “most likely happen on Sunday the 24th”, at the end of the weekend I was originally hoping for. As I’d originally asked for that weekend, but nearer to the end of it, I was frustrated, but not surprised, since it was my plans that had changed, not necessarily the movers’ faults. However, I did not receive any confirmation on the date for several days. I attempted to call Centennial Moving at least twice during this week, both times I was able to talk to a receptionist who was not able to give me any more information. I was forced to cancel my original plans for that weekend, including a hotel reservation in Vancouver, where I would be staying post-move.

Finally, I was informed on Friday, October 22nd, that my move would in fact happen on Monday, October 25th, between 12 PM and 5 PM. Since this was the first confirmation I had, I was finally able to tell my landlord, who was then able to book the professionals he needed the ready the apartment for the next tenant for Tuesday, September 26th.

The movers finally arrived at 7PM Monday evening. Thankfully, the movers were very good at their job, and packed all my stuff very well. It was relieving to see that they were as frustrated with the situation as I was.

The movers finally left shortly after midnight, having needed over 5 hours to pack my apartment. I was able to leave in the morning, but due to the rush and inability to deliver a clear schedule, my landlord had to reschedule the cleaners, and did not refund me my $600 deposit.

When I made it to Toronto, Centennial Moving was unwilling to set a date and time for delivery when asked. Instead, on Monday, November 8th, they said my delivery would be occurring on Tuesday, November 9th between 9AM and noon. When asked if this time could be moved, since I had a job interview at the same time and would not be able to reserve them a parking spot or elevator at my new building, they said it couldn’t be. So, I cancelled the job interview, potentially losing out on an early employment opportunity in Toronto and reserved the elevator for as long as I could. When I wrote back to tell them this, they suggested delivering on Friday, instead.

Over the course of the entire move, I lost my deposit on my apartment, as well as a potential job opportunity in my new place of residence. I was charged double my original wildly inaccurate quote. I was re-assigned moving consultants with no warning. The consultants and/or managers were completely unable to schedule anything with me within a reasonable timeframe.

Centennial Moving was at the highest level one of the least reliable companies I have ever had the displeasure of dealing with.

(Review edited for length)

I was not present for the movers in Victoria, it was my senior mother. The movers seemed pleasant, my mother had no complaints. They packed her belongings in the front of a very large moving truck, so we expected to be "last off" so we knew it may be a few weeks for delivery. The list given to my mother to sign was not accurate and the numbers did not match the items, so it made it impossible to "check" the packed list with what arrived. That was extremely frustrating. We had to try to go by memory as to what was packed in BC. The moving crew on the Niagara side were amazing. 3 young men, very pleasant and personable. Wore masks as they needed to since it was a seniors building. Kept physical distance where possible. Helped carry empty boxes to main floor so we could dispose of them in my mother's recycling room. Also took a few boxes down that were items that she used temporarily while waiting for her possessions to arrive. There was a delay in getting her move completed which was very very frustrating. Their contract reads 14 business days from when shipment leaves. She was packed Nov 3. The 14 days starts from when they leave the province apparently, not from leaving her house. They were unable to give me a date as to when they would leave province once her items were picked up. Nov 14th there were the mudslides in BC which closed roads. Nov 22 they contacted me to say our goods had to go into secure storage in BC. Dec 6th we were told we had to pay a 26% "fuel surcharge" but that they would continue to absorb storage costs but we had to share the burden of fuel cost increases. For a senior on a fixed income, this was a significant burden on my mother who thought packing her things on Nov 3 for a Nov 15 move in date would be sufficient (THEY picked that date knowing her move in date). Not only did her move cost her more, but we had to find furniture and household goods to hold her over till her belongings arrived Dec 21st. Many boxes had clearly been sitting in wet conditions, and her box of dishes marked "fragile" were mostly broken, as well as a picture frame and glass. I am sure the damage was not over the $300 deductible, so we did not pursue. Overall the weather was a large contributing factor to our experience, but more truthful upfront expectations on timelines and care with handling belongings could use improvement.

I’m going to be fair, and tell you the pros and cons. Everything started great with Centennial for my move from Calgary to Toronto. I was provided a good quote, and my move coordinator Dave was excellent. He was very responsive, and gave very detailed responses to all my issues. The move was coordinated easily, and was scheduled for 24june21. Note, I heavily underestimated the weight, and the actual weight was substantially more. I was told it would be a big trailer coming which I assume would take my stuff from Calgary to Toronto, with minimal moving between trucks, but when a small truck arrived i knew my stuff would get handled twice as much. We have all travelled on airplanes with boxes, regular boxes packed in a regular way, and as we know these boxes arrive pretty beat up – same concept applies to movers, and this had me a bit worried knowing they would handle my stuff yet again. The crew who came to pick up the furniture were not very professional, but they did their job and didn’t damage anything – but I was expecting more of a professional service from “such a professional” moving company. My stuff was delayed beyond the 4 week estimate, but arrived in 7 weeks – not too bad, and the contract stated there are no guarantees so I cant place blame.

Then our stuff arrived. Very unprofessional movers – no masks, no booties. They had to be asked to put protective covers when taking large items upstairs as to not damage the house. They questioned us on why we used “such big boxes” – doesn’t matter, we don’t need to hear your opinion on how we packed. All the boxes had clear labels as to where they were to go. Yet they would still ask where things went, and huffed and puffed if something has to go upstairs. Also, they placed a bunch of stuff just in the garage instead of where it belonged – must be nice to just do whatever you want to reduce your workload. I had to then move a lot of these heavy boxes myself throughout the house over the next several weeks. And at the end they even asked for a tip…now lets talk about our stuff. Out of 6 pieces of bigger furniture, they broke/lost 3 pieces – that’s 50% of my large items broken or missing! The TV stand was literally crushed (not cheap Ikea stuff), and a custom bench was broken. We had a HUGE king size bed headboard size 8’x5’, which weighed over 200lbs – this was lost and never recovered. How does a moving company loose such a huge piece of furniture? Did they break it and just dump it? Did they decide it was too big and just didn’t care enough to move it? I have moved full family homes over 10 times, and have never broken anything like this, because I used common sense and cared. So we filed a claim on 16Aug, pretty angry that half of my furniture was broken by this super professional moving company who I paid over $7000 to. They responded 2 months later, and stated that I denied additional insurance (which I did, because im a regular person with regular stuff (not garbage), and none if it was super expensive that I needed extra insurance. I also didn’t think any of my stuff was easily breakable), therefore I would be only entitled to the basic insurance payout of 0.60c/lb. Also, there was a $300 deductible (per contract), so they ever so graciously offered me $145 to close the issue, with a stipulation that I cannot post negative reviews anywhere. After losing $3500 worth of stuff, and getting offered $145, it was a slap in my face. So I write this review which cost me $145, to tell you all about my experience. Note, Centennial did in no way breach the contract, so legally I have no recourse. I don’t believe breaking half of someone’s furniture is even remotely acceptable for a professional moving company, regardless of the insurance payouts. For Centennial who I’m sure will respond to this, yes you asked me 3 times if I needed extra insurance, and yes I declined.

This afternoon Centennial Moving Company delivered items to my home. Upon arrival, they were asked to wear a mask, as it is currently the law in New Brunswick to do so. We had a box of masks available to them. They refused to wear a mask, and proceeded to enter my home, after driving items from Alberta, to New Brunswick. I contacted the manager of Centennial Moving Company - Moncton Location, about how upset I was with the fact that their movers did not listen to our request, and put us and our family at risk by entering my home without a mask on, while in Orange-Phase.

This manager told me it is TOO DIFFICULT (I’m still laughing about this) to walk up and down stairs while wearing a mask. He agreed with his movers, and stated that they shouldn’t wear one. After stating multiple times that it is, in fact, the LAW to wear a mask in any public place, or entering someone else’s home, he told me he doesn’t care, and that I am wrong. After repeating multiple times that this is not ok, he told me he doesn’t care, and that he doesn’t want me to contact him, or the office ever again about today’s issue. I am absolutely disgusted with the way he chose to deal with customer service complaints.

Not sure how this man, or his employees think they can pick and choose which laws they follow. However, he was very adamant that the law to wear masks in public and other people’s homes does not pertain to his delivery drivers.

I used them to move my stuff from AB to QC. After picking up my stuff they claimed they went to a scale and my stuff weighs 3200 lb. They didn't know that I weighed my stuff myself and they are 2400 lb. When I asked them about the ticket scale they alleged that the scaling facility doesn't provide tickets due to COVID-19 situation. I called the facility myself and it turns out this a straight lie.

After many rounds of negotiations, they offered to scale my stuff in front me but on condition that they will charge me more if the second scale within 10% of their value. When we re-weighed the stuff it turns out exactly as I expected (to put in $ value, they were about to charge me $800 more than they should).

They didn't apologize or even provide any reasonable explanation of how their weight was 800lb more than the actual value.

Save yourself the hassle, and look for an honest company.

EDIT based on their reply:

They said the scale facility won't allow them in due to COVID19. This is not true because I called the facility and they confirmed with me that the driver are allowed to enter and there is no special measurement due to COVID19.

Update January 14, 2021

After multiple correspondences with senior staff since posting the initial review, we negotiated to settle our differences and I was compensated. We clearly had different expectations of the service standards. Ultimately, all my items were delivered and intact. We acknowledged that there were some factors beyond our control. I have since increased the rating because of the satisfactory final outcome.

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Initial review on November 12, 2020:

Very unpleasant long-distance move from Toronto to Vancouver this summer. 0 stars. Please read before choosing this company.

Pick-up was smooth but delivery was a disaster!

- gave little delivery notice (on a long weekend) and the alternative to charge extra for storage and redelivery fees

- first delivery: 15 of 25 items missing, mover Costa did not offer any explanation and wanted me to sign the receipt

- after multiple phone conversations and emails, located 14 items in their warehouse and 1 item delivered to another customer on the same date, scheduled for redelivery on a Sunday

- company replied that Costa was the only staff handling jobs in Vancouver; logically, he was likely responsible for delivery errors

- second delivery: unexpected knock on my door one day ahead (saturday) without confirmation by Costa again; company's response was Costa explained to Dispatch who was 'too busy' on a weekend to confirm with the customer so they came anyway

- Costa did not offer any explanation or apologies for the error, dropped 15 items OUTSIDE of my home on a wet ground, refused to discuss and drove away in the middle of a conversation

- Rex and Kian from customer service/claims offered blanket statement replies that it was bad luck and errors happen - even if it was 60% of items missing- used pandemic and employee stress as an excuse

- many boxes and items were in poor condition, a reflection of lack of care during the move

- poor communication: long holds on phone that leads to full voicemails (cannot leave message), slow response to email

In my opinion, centennial moving is an extremely unprofessional company that tolerates multiple employee errors and misbehaviours with no accountability. Recommend avoiding at all costs or risk being treated like this.

Stay away from this company!!!! I did my research, they had excellent reviews on their website and on other sites on the internet so I thought, ok, let's go with them. BAD IDEA!! I have moved A LOT in the last year and my provincial movers weren't able to move me from Ontario to Nova Scotia. So, I chose Centennial Moving. It all started out well, my sales person was very helpful and explained that they charge by weight. I was also informed that Centennial Moving only comes to the East Coast once a month which meant that they would have to pick up my belongings on September 15 to have it out in Halifax between September 25-30. This would have worked out perfectly because we would've been able to unpack over the 2 weeks we were in quarantine. I spoke to my other movers, as I had things in storage at their company, and they said that each storage locker weighs approximately 2000 lbs. I had one and a half storage units so their and my guesstimate was 3000 for the storage lockers and another 1000 lbs for the boxes I had at my apartment as I had little to no furniture (no bedframe, no couch, no chairs, no dining set) I was thinking worst case scenario it would all weigh 4500 lbs for 169 items.

Here is where it starts heading downhill....On September 15, it was confirmed that the movers would be at my storage place between noon and 4pm. I have never had a moving window...the movers arrived at 4:30. I waited in my car for 4 1/2 hours because my storage was an hour away from where I lived. I had to call dispatch twice to find out where they were. Such bad communication!!! With the second phone call I was told that they stopped to get food. I understand that you have to eat BUT YOU WERE ALREADY LATE and absolutely ZERO communication with the customer that was waiting!!!!!!!!

The following day I asked for the weight ticket because I had heard stories about people's belongings "weighing more" so the company can make more money than what they quoted their customers. The weight ticket ended up being a form that the company sent. Where is the real ticket? You can't tell me that COVID is the problem as the weigh station can provide you with a printed copy through the window, or you could take a picture of it and send that. According to my weight ticket, all my things weighed 5650 lbs. Are you kidding me? I had almost NO FURNITURE!!!

To make matters worse, a few days later I get an email five minutes before the sales person left for the day to say that my things were too heavy to go on the September truck to Nova Scotia and would be arriving a month later. What could I do? They had my belongings.

A month goes by, I had to email the company on October 26 to ask the ETA. The dates I was given were between October 23-27 with 24-48 hours notice. I was told that it will be arriving on October 31 and November 2. UGH!!

The dispatch department sent me an email on October 29 to confirm that my delivery would be on October 31 anytime between 9am and 12pm. FINALLY! I sent them back the email confirmation with excitement because the day was finally here!! And this is what I got back:

"Thank you for the confirmation, Sara.

We would like to ask you, is there is any possibility you could pay the final balance with cash or at least a part of it?

The reason for such a request is that our driver's card was temporarily blocked for some reason and he will need cash for regular trip expenses.

Regardless of the payment method, an official receipt will be provided accordingly.

We would be grateful if that will possible on your end, kindly let us know."

What kind of company does that?????!!!! What kind of company asks that from their customers?

I have never written a review before but felt compelled to warn consumers about this company. We hired Centennial Movers to move a 2 bedroom bungalow from Toronto to Vancouver Island. We dealt with Xavier who quoted us $4900 for approx. 8000lbs with an expected delivery date around the beginning of April. On move out day, the movers were efficient but did manage to break off a large piece of stone from the front porch with their dolly and didn't bother mentioning it. I did relay what I witnessed in an email to Centennial but nothing was done to rectify it. We received a bill later that day which was significantly more than the original quote (like $3,000 more) with the final weight of 12820! I was floored. We have a 2 bedroom, 900 square foot bungalow! When I asked for the waybill documenting the weight, I got a weight typed on company letterhead...nothing official. Since net weight is such a point of contention, you would think that they would be able to provide an actual waybill. Move in day came and went. Follow-up phone calls and emails with Xavier had me trying to track down their dispatcher directly whom could not even provide a ballpark date when our things would arrive. Fortunately we had brought camping gear with us so we were not completely without. Finally, three weeks after the estimated delivery date, only HALF of our items showed up. We were made to pay the full amount or they would not unload. The movers were very nice and pointed out damage...there was a fair amount of it. The movers tracked down the other half of our items to a warehouse in Vancouver and sent us photos. I was horrified to see some of the boxes ripped and stacked in a way which completely neglected the instructions on the box. Some damage is to be expected with a long-distance move but after seeing the way in which our items were handled, I attribute a lot of the damage to a total lack of care. We received the remainder of our items a week later and fortunately despite some damage everything was accounted for. We did receive a box that did not belong to us but the movers picked up on it quickly and put it back in their truck. After inventorying the damage, I provided the necessary information to the claims department but was told the damage would essentially be the cost of the $300 deductible ( the damage was far greater). They were willing to offer me a $70 reimbursement on the condition that I "opt from pursuing further with legal complaints or claims, posting online reviews related to Centennial moving that will negatively affect the company's reputation". I thanked them for their hush money but said I would rather have the ability to post my experience online to caution others who are looking for a reputable moving company.